Precious Skid Row Alcoholics

Bright Angel Trail Grand Canyon - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

Before the Second World War, Antoine de Exupery observed a disheveled boy riding with his peasant mother in the open seating portion of a train steaming through the European countryside. He wondered, given the opportunity, how many children like this forlorn creature would blossom into “little Mozarts?” The boy symbolized the talent and energy that is unknowingly lost to society due to birthright.

Our city officials deal with the opposite end of life’s spectrum: derelicts who lost whatever potential they may have had years ago due to drugs and alcohol abuse. The following is another example of compassion out of control, where the personal injury industry is prepared to pounce on any hint of social injustice.

Last year two local “victims” were given 1363 ambulance rides to the community hospital for medical evaluation; that’s almost two rides per day each for the entire year and 1.4% of all ambulance rides during the same time frame. Although one does not want to appear callous, this is hardly the wisest way to spend tax revenue. It would be cheaper to buy these so called “frequent fliers” a condo in Carmel along with maid service and an all-you-can-eat gift certificate at MacDonald’s. A more measured and less expensive solution would be to hand deliver a half gallon of Jim Beam each evening before they turn in for the night.

Winning the Lotto for these two “frequent fliers” would be the hope of suffering a true medical emergency and being ignored by the ambulance service. Imagine the soliloquy from the plaintiff’s attorney before a jury selected for their caring and malleability. Such an oversight would cost the city millions, arguably many times more than what they are worth.

This is the crux of the problem: These men take great liberty with the truth, and there is a cost associated with their malfeasance. The considerable sums spent for their antics are diverted from a host of beneficial causes. How many scholarships, miles of road, or legitimate medical services could be purchased for the cost of giving 1363 rides to the hospital for bogus complaints? In these times of political correctness the euphemistic “homeless” label is used, but thief would be a more apt description.

Once someone receives all medical benefits gratis without a personal obligation to temper the demand, the state’s financial obligation for emergency medical care becomes theoretically infinite. This right is unaffected by one’s personal behavior or motivation. Youth’s tabula rasa is treated on par with the middle aged alcoholic in liver failure. Get him to the hospital as soon as possible and never mind there is no money for music instruction in the public schools!

Balance needs to be restored, and this will not occur until there is some penalty associated with bad behavior. Whether a limit is placed on the number of ambulance rides, welfare checks are docked, or one is forced to collect roadside trash, a system must in place to discourage abuse. If ten ambulance rides a year are authorized, the abuser alone determines whether to use them all in the first five days of the year.

Society is under no obligation to extend unfettered aid to those who make no effort to repay the generosity, particularly if finite resources are available. Leon R. Kass wrote an erudite article in 1994 entitled “Living Dangerously” where he examined the dilemma of providing unlimited care for all. In the end he settled for the common sense, tough love approach which restores balance between indulgence and apathy.

Coupling tax payer funded services with an element of personal responsibility redefines value. There is nothing immoral about the process; those of us who pay the bills constantly ruminate about the risks and benefits of our actions. Supply is limited, so invariably the demand for services must be tempered and accessed prudently. In the case of the ambulance riders, suppose a bona fide emergency occurs, and they elect not to call 911? Join the real world, the place where most of us reside.